


Hold Me Forever

by schmulte



Category: Hadestown - Mitchell
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Oneshot, just a pinch, light angst maybe?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 01:15:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21291296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schmulte/pseuds/schmulte
Summary: A brief oneshot about what I think happened during All I've Ever Known. Enjoy!
Relationships: Eurydice/Orpheus (Hadestown)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	Hold Me Forever

Summertime happened in a whirlwind. Wine was poured, toasts were given, songs were sung. The lovers had taken each other by the hand and danced underneath the sky. It was beautiful, and warm, and accented with sweet-tasting kisses. It was all Orpheus had dreamed of since he had seen Eurydice for the first time. He had imagined the dances they would share, the secrets they would tell, the feel of her soft skin under his lyre-calloused hands. It was everything he had wanted. And still, something was amiss. Eurydice had been reserved. Sometimes Orpheus would reach out to touch and she would pull away. Sometimes the kisses ended too quickly, the dances were too short. The boy knew that Eurydice had come to the road alone. He could guess that she had been alone for a long time, but he knew better than to ask and push her away further. So he waited, and cherished the occasions when they were close. 

It took Eurydice some time to finally open up. It wasn't during some kind of special occasion or a moment of intimacy. The two of them were just sitting. Orpheus had been fiddling with the strings on his lyre, completely oblivious to the world around him. All Eurydice could do was watch him in his moment of concentration, and suddenly she couldn't help it anymore. 

"Orpheus." 

The poor boy didn't seem to notice his name being called, all his attention to his delicate strings. It almost made Eurydice suppress a smile to see him in that kind of state. It was endearing in a way. 

"Orpheus," she said, louder this time. 

This second attempt seemed to catch the musician's attention. His head shot up and his eyes widened as if he had been asleep and had just been startled awake. 

"Hm?" 

"Can we talk?" 

The boy nodded and seemed to shake himself from his state, standing as he did so and offering his hand to Eurydice. She took it after a moment of hesitation and used it to pull herself up and then immediately released it. Eurydice was forced to turn her gaze to the ground as she saw the immediate drop in Orpheus's smile. The poet wiped his hands nervously on his shirt as Eurydice dug the toe of her boot into the dirt. 

"What uh...what did you want to talk about?" the boy asked. Eurydice took a deep breath and brought her head up to look him in the eye. 

"I don't really know how to find the words." she admitted. 

Orpheus managed to crack a small smile again and gestured playfully towards the lyre. 

"You could always try singing about it." 

Normally Eurydice would have responded to his humor with some kind of witty remark or a playful push, but she was too tense for that. She knew that she needed to tell Orpheus how she felt, but the right words just weren't there. 

"I just don't know where to begin." 

"Then start from the beginning." 

After his suggestion, Orpheus tentatively took one of Eurydice's hands in his own and brought it to his lips. Eurydice allowed him to do so, and visibly relaxed at the gesture. Even when all her instincts told her to push him away, he could always bring her back with those small reassurances. She took another deep breath and pressed her palm into his chest, the feel of his heartbeat calming her and giving her the courage to speak. 

"I've been alone my entire life. I've never had anyone else to rely on but myself. That's just...how it's always been." 

Orpheus found himself beginning to stress. This was starting to sound like Eurydice saying goodbye. And without her, he didn't know what he would do. He brought his hands over the one on his chest for comfort and waited the agonizing seconds for her to speak again. 

"And even though I've only had to hold myself up for the longest time, I think," she continued. "I think I want to hold you too. And somehow, in spite of myself...I think I've fallen in love with you, Orpheus." 

The poor boy couldn't help but to breathe out a sigh of relief. The smile that lit up felt like it was going to tear his face in half, and he didn't even care. He couldn't help but let the words tumble from his lips: 

"I love you too-" 

Eurydice shook her head and took her hand back from Orpheus's grip, taking a few steps back when he tried to get closer. She held her arms up briefly to signal that he should not follow before wrapping them around herself and walking in the other direction until her back was to him. 

"This isn't easy for me to say, Orpheus. You don't understand what it's like to be by yourself all the time and suddenly there's this other person. The way you make me feel...it's something I've never felt before. When you hold me, it's almost like I forget how cold and dark the world can be. And that scares me." 

The last thing Eurydice expected after all that was to feel a pair of hands over her forearms. The feeling startled her a bit. Orpheus could feel her tense from where his hands were placed, but he did not let go, and she did not push him away. 

"You're right," he said. "I don't know what it's like to be lonely. I've always had a crowd to gather around me." 

Eurydice sighed and prepared herself to flee again, but Orpheus's hands held tight and turned her around so they were face-to-face again. 

"But," he continued. "I also don't know who I am to have deserved you. When I hold you, it feels like the world is in my arms. I feel like I've known you my whole life, Eurydice." 

The kiss that was then placed on Orpheus's lips was gratefully received, and he reciprocated happily. He found himself following Eurydice for more as she pulled away all too quickly, but the feel of herself turning around and and wrapping herself in his arms a comfort in itself. They stood there for what could have been seconds or hours, Eurydice's hands holding Orpheus's arms in place around her torso, her head against his chest, the sound of his heartbeat so close to her ear. It was an eternity before she spoke again, afraid to break the fragile silence in the wake of her heavy words. 

"Promise me something," she finally said. 

"Anything." 

Eurydice pulled her lover's arms tighter around her and allowed herself to close her eyes briefly as he gently swayed the two of them. 

"Say that you'll hold me forever. Say that the wind won't change on us. Promise that we'll stay with each other, and that it will always be like this. 

There was a pause before Orpheus replied. It worried Eurydice that she had said too much, that he would pull away. But his arms stayed around her, and they continued to sway together. 

"I'm gonna hold you forever," he replied after a time. "The wind will never change on us. And I promise, that as long as we stay with each other-" 

He paused again, this time taking just enough time to place a kiss to the top of his lover's head before finishing his pledge. 

"Then it will always be like this." <


End file.
